In search of the roots of reality / Review of 'Our Place In The Universe' By J J C Smart

METAPHYSICS does not get a good press in an age averse to great issues and addicted to minute particulars, but I don't think one can live without it. Like it or not, implicitly or explicitly, we all take a stance about the nature of reality and our place within it. Professor Smart's book addresses such big questions. He is a philosopher who takes science seriously, to the point of saying he considers that 'the best of contemporary theoretical physicists are more conceptually innovative and imaginative than are professional philosophers'. But, of course, he adds that nevertheless 'there are philosophical questions that philosophers . . . are usually better equipped to discuss than scientists'.

His book is principally concerned with three grand topics: the nature of time; the relationship of mind and brain; and the ...

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